ILOILO – Gov. Arthur Defensor Jr. welcomed the inclusion of his proposal to establish hemodialysis centers in 12 district hospitals, including the Iloilo Provincial Hospital, in the newly added 13 projects in the public-private partnership (PPP) pipeline.
PPP Center deputy executive director Jeffrey Manalo announced that the new projects were added following unsolicited proposals received by the agency and subsequently endorsed to implementing agencies.
One such proposal, submitted by Panay Medical Ventures Inc., aims to establish hemodialysis centers in the provincial and district hospitals of Iloilo.
“Thank you very much because that was our goal when we visited the PPP Center last month, to check the overall completeness of the proposal,” Governor Defensor told Panay News.
When asked about the next steps, Defensor explained that the unsolicited proposal would be sent to the provincial government for negotiation and subsequent approval by the PPP board.
After approval, the terms of negotiation with the proponent will be set, and once agreed upon, the proposal will undergo a competitive challenge.
“We are happy with this development. Iloilo district hospitals need dialysis centers — initially one in the south, one in the central area, and one in the north,” Defensor said.
If the three initial dialysis centers prove successful and there is a demand for more dialysis centers in other district hospitals, further establishments will be pursued.
For Defensor, these dialysis centers are crucial; they will help decongest patients from the province who otherwise travel to tertiary hospitals in Iloilo City for dialysis.
“This way, our residents from various towns will no longer need to travel to the city,” the governor explained.
Defensor hopes to finalize the partnership with an interested company before the end of 2024, aiming to start the establishment of dialysis centers in district hospitals as soon as possible.
Under the PPP Code, all unsolicited proposals must first be submitted to the PPP Center for a completeness check.
In 2023, Dr. Paz V. Calopiz, head of the provincial government’s Hospital Management Office (HMO) managing 12 district hospitals and the Iloilo Provincial Hospital (IPH), said the capitol had started exploring the possibility of establishing dialysis centers through PPP.
But aside from PPP, the provincial government is also studying whether it could fund the same on its own.
Calopiz said maintaining dialysis operation is arduous; the provincial government has to hire specialists like doctors, nurses and medical technologists to manage the unit.
For the dialysis machines, meanwhile, she said this could be requested from the Department of Health (DOH).
The 12 district hospitals managed by the provincial government are the following:
* Aleosan District Hospital in Barangay Bancal, Alimodian
* Barotac Viejo District Hospital in Barangay San Lucas, Barotac Viejo
* Dr. Ricardo S. Provido Memorial District Hospital in Barangay Dalid, Calinog
* Don Valerio Palmares Sr. Memorial District Hospital on Alfelor Street, Passi City
* Dr. Ricardo Y. Ladrido Memorial District Hospital in Barangay Poblacion, Ilawod, Lambunao
* Ramon D. Duremdes District Hospital in Barangay Ilaya 1st, Dumangas
* Federico Roman Tirador Sr. Memorial District Hospital in Barangay Jibolo, Janiuay
* Jesus M. Colmenares Memorial District Hospital in Barangay Tingui-an, Balasan
* Ramon Tabiana Memorial District Hospital in Barangay Pungtod, Cabatuan
* Rep. Pedro G. Trono Memorial District Hospital on Garriel Street, Guimbal
* San Joaquin Mother and Child Hospital in San Joaquin
* Sara District Hospital in Barangay Anoring, Sara/PN
